Visiting the Diefenbunker: Cool and creepy

Alice's Village Cafe, is a popular spot for a bite to eat, offering home-baked breads and desserts, including its trademark, giant cinnamon bun, "The Big Nasty."Kristin Goff
/ For Postmedia News

Derek Miller, crawls through a course at the Diefenbunker: Canada???s Cold War Museum on Saturday, June 14, 2014 during first annual Operation Father's Day. Operation Father's Day is a fundraising initiative for the Museum and The Guild of the Royal Canadian Dragoons. (Cole Burston/Ottawa Citizen)Cole Burston
/ Ottawa Citizen

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Q. Can you recommend a cool place to go on a hot day? I’m not that keen on beaches.

A. Sure, take a trip to Carp.

Q. Carp? You mean the quiet little village to the west of Ottawa?

A. That’s it. It has interesting stuff to do and see, including the amazing Diefenbunker Museum, which is cool in every sense of the word.

Q. Really, how so?

A. Well, they don’t call it the Cold War museum for nothing. (Sorry, just joking.) You won’t need a coat to explore this weird underground museum, but the spooky concrete blast tunnel that you need to walk through as you enter is a sweater-worthy 15 degrees.

Plus, the whole place is weird and a bit creepy. It was designed as a massive bunker to house key government operations in the event of nuclear war. It’s a good place to pick up “cool” tidbits to impress your friends.

Q. OK – enough with the “cool” puns. I get your meaning. Tell me more about the museum.

A. Well, the 100,000 square foot (9,290 square metre) underground complex was designed to support about 500 people for several weeks in the event of a nuclear war. It used enough steel to build the Eiffel Tower and has a roomful of 1960s-era computers that were state-of-the-art at the time, but couldn’t begin to match the computing power of a basic cell phone today.

Prime Minister John Diefenbaker (hence the nickname) commissioned the secret bunker in 1959 but never stepped foot in the place. He was supposedly unhappy that his family couldn’t join him. His room contains a small military-issue single bed with a desk in an adjoining room.

Q. Tell me more.

A. I found the decontamination rooms particularly chilling (sorry—I just can’t help myself.) Everyone would have had to go through several steps of decontamination before being allowed in. After three attempts at decontamination, those who didn’t meet radiation would be kicked back outside, presumably to die.

There’s a big vault to store Bank of Canada gold and a tiny room in the hospital section with six bunk beds where they planned to lock up people who became too distraught to function.

Q. You recommended a visit to the Village of Carp. What else is there to do?

A. Since the Diefenbunker doesn’t open until 11 a.m., you could go early and take in the Carp Farmers’ Market, provided you are going on a Saturday. It runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday through Oct. 25. The organizers boast that it is the largest producer-based farmers’ market in Ontario with everything from fresh garden vegetables to elk sausage and honey. In addition to farm products you’ll find a few booths with craft items and perhaps a busker or two.

Q. Anything else?

A. Well, sure. What’s an outing without some food? You can get things to eat at the farmers’ market, but I like to go to Alice’s Village Cafe, across the street from the main fairground entrance on Carp Road.

Q. What do you recommend?

A. If you are up for something totally goopy, there’s a cinnamon bun called “The Big Nasty” that Alice’s is known for. It even sells T-shirts with the Big Nasty on it so you can boast about your kajillion calorie breakfast or snack. Personally, I haven’t tried it (big pat on back for me) but I’m a fan of their sandwiches and chips. All their baked goods are made on site, as are their chips, soups, lemonade and iced tea.

Q. Anything else?

A. When I have the time, I like to pop into The Hive an interesting old house next to Alice’s Cafe that has divided its rooms into little shops offering flowers, new and used clothing for adults and children and jewelry, craft items and more.

Q. What are the details?

A. The Village of Carp is about 10 kilometers west of Kanata. To get there follow Highway 417 west to exit 144 (North Carp Road.) Follow that directly to the village where there will be signs directing you to the Diefenbunker and Farmers’ Market.

More information, plus links to all of the attractions I’ve mentioned can be found at the Village of Carp website: villageofcarp.ca

Kristin Goff is an Ottawa freelance writer who likes adventures big and small, especially when there is food involved.

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